Mine Creek Revelations by Louie Graves: Thank Candidates

MY SINCERE THANKS to all who ran for public office in the General Election this week. This column was written before the polls closed, so I have no idea who won what.

Our society depends upon citizen participation, and folks have to get up off the couch and campaign in order to serve their fellow citizens.

You can’t do it by just buying newspaper or radio ads, or posting on social media or mailing out some fancy flyers. Candidates need to get out and shake hands. This is great because it fosters the exchange of information.

So, whether you won or lost your race, our town, county, state and nation is better off because you made the effort. Things have gotten pretty contentious these days. I liked it better when candidates and parties at least ACTED as if they respected each other.

Many of the things that I was taught in public schools aren’t taught these days. I’m not saying this is good or bad. But one thing I learned in some long-forgotten class was stuff about how elections work. We learned that if you want to make a difference generally, or to change one thing, specifically, you’ve got to get the voters behind you. This also meant that liberal candidates had to make themselves a bit more conservative if they hoped to get those votes. The same is true for those conservatives.

There is almost always some common ground even in these days of extreme viewpoints.

We are all Arkansans, all Americans, and I do not know of a single person who wants to do harm to either the state or the nation.

So, I repeat my thanks to the candidates and those who labored for them. I am sorry that our Supreme Court struck down some of the measures which I felt strongly about. And I still don’t understand how or why the marijuana issue was on the Howard County ballot in the first place. Someone was pulling our strings and we look foolish.

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FIRE ANT MOUNDS. Recent heavy rains and resulted in many new fire ant mounds in our area. I’ve noticed that the mounds seem to be getting taller and taller.

How tall?

Well, one fire ant colony has submitted a request to the Nashville Planning & Zoning Commission to build a multi-story mound.

And another wants a zoning variance so that several colonies could go together and build one super mound. As it is now, they are Fire Ant Zone 1 which is for single colonies only.

One progressive fire ant was heard to say “If foot traffic gets any worse down here we’re gonna need a certified J-Turn Officer.” Good luck getting that done. (I say that from experience)

As if run-of-the-mill fire ants weren’t bad enough, now there is a new species called ‘crazy fire ants’ that are taking over in the south.

They are called ‘crazy’ because they move about erratically. The bad thing about crazy fire ants is that they are attracted to electrical wiring and they are compelled to chew on the stuff until it shorts. They also often get electrocuted and that sends out a smell that alarms the surviving crazy fire ants and makes them really, really, really angry. They will bite anything, including you if you’re anywhere near them.

Sorta like diehard Razorback fans after another second half collapse. But that’s another story and I’m sure you wouldn’t be interested.

However, there is no known case of a diehard Razorback fan actually biting anything other than his/her own tongue.

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I HAVE A FASHION question.

Ladies, why do you torture yourself by wearing shoes with high, high high heels?

It’s got to be uncomfortable, not to mention hurting your knee, ankle and calf muscles, tendons and bones. And stretching your tattoos.

Don’t let fashion lead you to permanently hurt yourself.

This is not the first time ladies have let fashion lead them to foot injury. I remember reading articles about times more than a century or so ago how Chinese nobles bound their female children’s feet beginning in infancy. That kept their feet from growing and it curled them grotesquely. But the Chinese thought it was attractive to have itsy-bitsy feet, even if the women couldn’t walk unaided.

In another fashion matter, ladies, there is nothing wrong with wearing snug leggings.

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I’M GETTING PRETTY GOOD at guessing which house is having bacon for breakfast. When I make my pre-dawn walk around the neighborhood sometimes the smells make me drool. I experienced a new smell this week. Someone, I swear, was baking cinnamon rolls.

And to this person I have just one thing to say:

“Stop it!”

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THINGS I LEARNED from opening (and believing) email: “Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand and “lollipop” with your right.

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WORD GAMES. The Twins: Up and Adam. Get it?

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HE SAID: “Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher

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SHE SAID: “I have begun the ‘History of England’ by Mr. Hume. It seems to me very interesting, though it is necessary to recollect that it is a Protestant who has written it.” Marie Antoinette, Queen of France